Monochromatic houses and cars

Do people choose their car to match the house or paint the house to match the car? Typical Japanese houses in my neighbourhood.

111 places in Tokyo that you shouldn't miss.

An unfinished challenge.  111 things that you shouldn't miss in Tokyo - a book with interesting ideas  and unusual places to visit across Tokyo.  An unfinished challenge.  Kaminoge station (near school) is one of the places described in the book and one I visited this week.  The smooth round roof and circular hole over the road make it an iconic building - one designed by one of my favourite Japanese architects Tadao Ando.

Ando explained in an interview that he believes “architecture is something to be experienced with all five senses – not just the eyes.” His work is iconic and recognizable, but at the same time, it never feels cookie-cutter, and there’s plenty of conscientious reasoning behind this. Ando’s work has a strong foundational ideology, which he calls pure geometry. While imagining each piece he creates, attention to the detail of the building’s natural surroundings dictate the shape of the outcome.
https://japanobjects.com/features/tadao-ando

The Neighbourhood - Lien de Sazaesan

Another link to Sazaesan in Sakurashinmachi.  This cafe specializes in small pancakes decorated with images from Sazaesan manga.

The Neighbourhood - Narrow Streets

The narrow streets of Sakurashinmachi and similar Tokyo neighbourhoods are quaint and cute, as are the small trucks and vans that are also cute.  The drivers are incredibly polite and patient, waiting for you as a pedestrian or cyclist and bowing to you when you step aside to give way and let them have the road.

The Neighbourhood - A Eucalypt

The juxtaposition of old and new in one block always amazes me as I wander the neighbourhood streets.  This is a typical street scene - look closely for an Australian surprise in the middle of the photo.

Australian plants are popular at the local nursery too and in some other neighbourhood gardens.

Hardenbergia - commonly known as sarsaopilla seems to be a popular climber and wattles known here as mimosa are also a common garden plant.

The neighbourhood - Sazasen

Sazae-san is a character in a Japanese manga series by   Machiko Hasegawa from the post war era.  While Astro Boy became famous in the west Sazaesan and her family remain unknown.  However they are celebrated in Sakurashinmachi, the neighbourhood where the author lived.  The characters greet you at the train station and on a mural at the main intersection and cartoon images decorate the power boxes in the street and other places.

The Neighbourhood - Queens English

Every neighbourhood has cram schools and English language schools.  Love that the one in Sakurashinmachi is called "The Queens English School".

The Neighbourhood - Round windows

An architect friend of mine worked with someone who said round windows indicated boring design and lack of creativity.  I am not sure about that.  Two interesting buildings modern and traditional, in Sazaesan-dori in Sakurashin machi with round, but very different, windows.

The Neighbourhood - Sakura in Sakurashinmachi

I live in Sakurashinmachi - which translates to Sakura new town.  This is taking literally on the facades of many of the buildings in the main street Sazaesan-dori - even the medical clinic.  The pink adds colour to the street and there is cherry blossom year round!

KFC

Kaarage Fried Chicken
Kaarage is the term for Fried chicken in Japanese - think Chicken Nuggets - but tastier and juicer.

An easy and yummmmy take away dinner after a late night at work, and you don't even need to go inside.  Park the bike on the footpath and order at the window. Loving life in Tokyo.

Typhoon Faxai

Typhoon Faxai battered Tokyo on Sunday night.  There was some serious damage - mainly in Chiba- the area closest to the coast.  The wind was incredible and the windows and walls of my apartment were rattling and shaking.  Next morning I went for a cycle through nearby Kinuta Park to find the trail littered with leaves and many downed branches.  We had the day off school as a "Typhoon Day" as public transport was in chaos.

The Neighbourhood- Spots and windows

This is the childcare centre near where I live.   I like the spotty/dotty  facade and windows.

The Neighbourhood

Typical street scene in my neighbourhood.  People walking and cycling, few cars, grey, beige and brown buildings.

Plum Blossom 3

The plum blossom festival was at Hanegi Park in Setagaya Ward, which is the ward where I live.  It is the most residential ward in Tokyo and you can get a sense of the suburban locality in the background of this photo.

The closest station to the park is Umegaoka Station - Ume - as in plum blossom.

It's the wet season

The rainy season seems to be lasting longer than in the previous two years.  As at home the heavens seem to open just as school finishes.  Most of the time that is Ok for me, but I have had a few damp scooter trips.  This photo looking across the road from my apartment to the yoga studio provides  a sense of the intensity of the short thunderstorms.

Pettah

Street life in Pettah is colorful and busy neighbourhood in Colombo. The unique red and white brick work of Jami Ul-Alfar Mosque dominates the visual skyline. I had a brief morning exploring Colombo and would have loved to have spent more time exploring the markets and streets of this area.

Universal Style of Builders

Is a well exposed bum crack the style of builders everywhere?

This fellow was working on the rendering of a new apartment block across from my front window and I just had to take a photo.